New Belgium Brewing’s Tour de Fat, a traveling celebration of bicycle advocacy, entertainment, and memorable shenanigans, raised $514,947 for local nonprofits this year, totaling close to $5 million in its 17-year stretch. The bike parade is free, but all proceeds from beer and merchandise sales and donations in each city go to local nonprofit organizations focused on making communities a better place to ride a bike.
In Tempe, more than $76,000 was raised, benefiting local nonprofits such as the Tempe Bicycle Action Group, Bike Saviours, Mountain Bike Association of Arizona and Central Arizona Mountain Bike Patrol. This year, Tempe party-goers paid a $10 admission to attend the festivities at Tempe Beach Park, a new move planners say was necessary to help cover production costs and keep the crowd to a manageable size. Ten thousand tickets were made available for the Tempe festival this year, but the final attendance count was 8,000.
Tour de Fat celebrates bicycle culture, kicking off each festival with a costumed bike parade through city streets. After the parade, thousands gather for a day of eclectic entertainment, New Belgium beer, bike-themed festivities, live music, carnival variety tents and delicious local food trucks. At each stop, New Belgium works with local sustainability partners to divert waste from landfills, encouraging beer and bike fans to think twice about recycling.
This year, which marked the brewery’s 25th anniversary, Tour de Fat traveled to nine cities between May and October, attracting 88,000 beer and bike enthusiasts. New Belgium’s hometown of Fort Collins had the most festival-goers, totaling 25,000 people, and the Tour de Fat stop in Denver raised the most money ($98,035). To see how each city performed, a breakdown is included below.
Tour de Fat also hosted the tenth annual car-for-bike swap, where one brave role model in each city stepped on stage to trade in car keys and pledge to live car-free for one year. Each swapper received a $2,250 stipend to buy their own commuter bike in exchange for their car. Vehicles for Charity auctioned the swapped cars, with proceeds benefitting Tour De Fat’s local nonprofit partners.
Tour de Fat Breakdown City-by-City
Grand Total
Total Funds Raised: $514,947 (not including auctioned car proceeds)
- Attendees: 88,000
Tempe, AZ – October 1
- Total Funds Raised: $76,160
- Attendees: 8,000
Washington, D.C. – May 21
- Total Funds Raised: $26,454
- Attendees: 3,000
Durham, NC – June 25
- Total Funds Raised: $29,093
- Attendees: 4,000
Chicago, IL – July 9
- Total Funds Raised: $61,651
- Attendees: 10,000
Boise, ID – August 13
- Total Funds Raised: $62,232
- Attendees: 12,000
Ft. Collins, Colo. – September 3 – highest attendance
- Total Funds Raised: $96,905
- Attendees: 25,000
Denver, Colo. – September 10 – most money raised
- Total Funds Raised: $98,035
- Attendees: 15,000
San Francisco, CA – September 17
- Total Funds Raised: $33,168
- Attendees: 6,000
San Diego, CA – September 24
- Total Funds Raised: $31,249
- Attendees: 5,000
About New Belgium Brewing Company
New Belgium Brewing, makers of Fat Tire Amber Ale and a host of Belgian-inspired beers, is recognized as one of Outside Magazine’s Best Places to Work and one of the Wall Street Journal’s Best Small Businesses. The 100% employee-owned brewery is a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Business as designated by the League of American Bicyclists, and one of World Blu’s most democratic U.S. businesses, and a Certified B Corp. In addition to Fat Tire, New Belgium brews thirteen year-round beers; Citradelic Tangerine IPA, Ranger IPA, Rampant Imperial IPA, Shift Pale Lager, Slow Ride Session IPA, Snapshot Wheat, Sunshine Wheat, 1554 Black Ale, Blue Paddle Pilsner, Abbey Belgian Ale and Trippel and a gluten-reduced line, Glutiny Pale Ale and Glutiny Golden Ale. Learn more at www.newbelgium.com.